PGA Championship returns to Sahalee

The U.S. PGA Championship, which went 54 years between stops in the state of Washington, will return to Sahalee Country Club near Seattle in 2010, the PGA of America announced Wednesday.

Hazeltine National Golf Club in Chaska, Minnesota, already the site of the 2002 PGA Championship, will get another one in 2009 as part of a long-term alliance with the PGA of America that could help it land a Ryder Cup.

Fiji's Vijay Singh won his first major, the 1998 PGA Championship at Sahalee in August, beating Steve Stricker by two strokes. It was the first PGA held in the state since 1944, when Bob Hamilton beat Byron Nelson in match play at Manito Golf and Country Club in Spokane.

"Sahalee proved itself worthy of a major championship event last year," said Jim Awtrey, chief executive officer of the PGA of America.

Hazeltine was the site of the U.S. Open in 1970 and 1991.

PGA officials lately have been awarding venues in packages. Courses that will host the next five Ryder Cup matches in America will also have a PGA Championship. If Hazeltine is to host a Ryder Cup, the next available year is 2015.

Wednesday's announcement means the 2007 PGA is the only site that has not been determined.

TRW